Apparatus for stropping razor-blades.



W. SCHMIDT. APPARATUS FOR STROPP ING RAZOR BLADES.

' APPLICATION-FILED SEPT. 15, 1909.

Pat ented Dec. 28,- 19091 UNITED STATES PATENT WILLIAM SCHMIDT, orJERSEY crrY HEIGHTS, NEW JEnsEY, As'sIeNoE '10 SIMON ZINN,OF NEW YORK,N. Y., A. FIRM.

APPARATUS FOR STROPPTNG RAZOR-BLADES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 28, 1909.

Application filed September 15, 1909. Seria No. 517,790.

' tact with an ordinary strop, the instrument containing in itself thestropping means, and being capable of operation on any suitable pliableor yielding surface; and'for this purpose the invention consists ofastropping apparatus which comprises a supporting frame, drive-rollerssupported in the lower part of said frame, stropping rollers supportedabove said drive-rollers, actuating gear-wheels between thedrive-rollers and stropping rollers, an independently oscillatingblade-holder pivoted to the frame between the pairs of driving-rollers,means for arresting the blade-holder when swung in either direction,means for returning the .blade-holder into upright position, and

means for impartin rotary motion to the stropping rollers, before orafter the contact, of the edge of the razor-blade, with one stroppingroller or the other has been made.

'The invention consists further of certain details of construction whichwill be fully described hereinafter and finally pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of myimproved razor-blade stropping apparatus, Fig. '2 is a plan-view of thesame, Fig. 3 is an end-elevation, and Figs. 4 and 5 are. verticaltransverse sections respectively on lines 4:, 4 and 5, 5, Fig. 2, Fig. 4showing the blade in contact with one of the stropping-rollers forstropping. v

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral figures.

Referring to the drawing, 0 0. represent front and rear plates of thesupporting frame of my improved apparatus for stropping razor-blades.The front-plate a is attached'to' a handle, while the rear-plate a? ismade U-shaped, both plates being prolower surface of the same.

- vided with suitabl e 'bearings for the shafts of a pair of lowerdriving rollers .b, .6 and v a pair of up er stropping rollers 'd, al Anindependent y oscillating blade-holder e is located midway between thedrive-rollers b,

I1 and pivoted to the front and rear-plates a The blade-holder e issupported on the flat upper surface of a roller e whichis of a largerdiameter than the drivin -rollers I 11 so as to project somewhat be owthe holders is connected at its'inner end by a helical spring 8 with apin 0 on the'front or The bladehead-plate a of the supporting frame a,said spring serving for holding the blade-holder in upright osition whenthe a paratus is not required for stropping. T e op osite end of theblade-holder supportin ro ler e is provided with a stop-pin e t at abutsagainst the lower cross-piece of the supporting frame so as to arrestthe blade inserted into the holder-" e at the proper angle ofinclination to either one of the stropping-rollers for the stroppingaction, as, shown in Fig. 4.

The lower driving-rollers b, b are prefer ably made of hard rubber orother suitable material, while the stropping rollers are made ofprepared stropping leather or other material, the stropping rollersbeing of suit able diameter for imparting the proper shaving angle.Motion' is imparted from the shafts-of the driving-rollers b, b by meansof gear-wheels -g which are mounted loosely on the shafts ofthe drivi-rollers and intermediate pinions g mountggloosely on short stud-shaftson the front or headplate a to gear-wheels g keyed to the shafts of thestropping-rollers. On the shafts of the driving-rollers are placedradial pins f. which engage pins f attached to the gearwheels 9 so as totake the same along and impart by the transmitting gearing motion to thestropping-rollers in one or the other direction according to thedirection of motion of therollers of the stropping appara-'v tus. Thepins on the shafts of the driving rollers are located between the twopins on i the lower gear-wheels g, so that the rotary motion ofthestropping rollers in one or the opposite direction is started as soonas the pm on the shaft of one driving roller en gages one or the otherof the pair on the lower gear-wheel g.

When the stropping apparatus is to be op.-

of pins f erated, it is moved over any suitable contacting surface,first in one and then in the opposite direction after the blade to bestropped has been inserted. in the blade holder. As soon as'motion .is'imparted to the stropping ap aratus by the contact of the contactin Iriction surface with the lower part 0% the blade-holderv carryingroller,-the latter moves the blade-holder in one direction and thebladein inclined position toward one of the stropping-rollers, as

shown in Fig. 4, so that the edge of the blade forms contact with thesame, as. shown a which the blade has formed contact.

.in Fi 4. During the positionin of the incline blade on thestropping-rol er, no motion is imparted to the stropping roller with Assoon as the blade is set in inclined position on the stropping-roller,the driving-roller then below the strop ing-roller is rotatedtransmitte' by the pin or its shaft to one of.

the pins on the lower gear-wheel to the other stropping-roller, so thatthe opposite side of the edge of the blade is subjected to the stro pingaction of the rotating stropping .jro ler. v e .motion of the stroppingapparatus 'over the contacting friction surfacein one direction or theother is continued until the stroppingof the blade is accomplished. ;Assoon as. the-apparatus is inoved out of contact with the contactingsurface, the blade-holder is then returned into upright position betweenthe driving and stropping-rollers' by means of its spring. By moving theblade over into con? tact with one or the other stropping-rollers,

the edge of the blade forms contact with one of the otherstropping-rollers before the r0 tary motion takes lace owing to the lostmotion produced be ore the pin on the shaft of the driving-rollerengages the pin on the gear-wheel, so that the surface of thestropping-roller is not injured by the contact of the blade with the,same as no. motion in either direction is imparted to the stroppingroller until the engagement of the pin on plished.

blade-holder and its contact with one orthe the; driving-roller withoneof the pins on the transmitting gear-wheels g is accom- Theoscillating motion of the other "stropping roller is accomplished by thefrictional contact with any contacting surface, so that the stropping ofthe edge of p the frame, a pair of stro theblade is accomplished and avery effective stropping action obtained. The shopping apparatus hasalso the further advantagethat it is utterly imposible to injure eitherthe blade or the stropping rollers even when the apparatus should bebrought into in erted position for-application, as the stropping'rollerswould rotate freely, while the blade remains stationary, as it is notbrought into contact with one of the stropping rollers or a contactingsurface.

The stroppin' apparatus is mainly intended for the hladesofsafety-razors, but it is obvious thatit can be used for stropping theblades of ordinary razors provided that the stroppin -device' is made ofa suiiicient size for taxing up and holding the blade.

It is understood that slight modifications in detail of the parts shown,as for instance the substitution of frictional contacting wheels insteadof gear-wheels will be within the scope of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentzi 1. A," razor-blade -stropping apparatus comprising asupporting frame, a pair of drlving and stroppin rollers supported onsaid frame, an osci lating bladeholder, means for'bringing theblade-holder back to upright position, and motion transmitting meansbetween'the shafts'of the driving and stropping rollers for rotating thelatter.

2. A razor-blade stropping apparatus comprising a supporting frame; anindependently oscillating blade holder pivoted to said frame, a stop forarrestingthe oscillating motion of the blade-holder when moved in one orthe opposite direction, a pair of driving rollers, a pair of stroppingrollers and means for transmitting motion between the driving andstropping rollers for actuating the latter.

3. In a razor-blade stropping'apparatus, the combination of a supportingframe, an independently-oscillating blade-holder pivoted to the frame, aroller supporting the bladeholder, a centering spring engaging theblade-holder and frame, means for arresting the motion of theblade-holder, driving-rollers supported in the frame, stropping rollerssupported in the frame above the driving rollers, gear wheels fortransmitting motion from the driving rollers to the stropping rollersand mechanism between the driving rollers and the stropping rollers forimparting rotary motion to the stropping rollers. 4,. Ina razor-bladestropping apparatus, the combination of a supporting frame, a pair ofdriving-rollers, one ateach side of ping rollers above and parallel withthe riving-rollers, an independently oscillating blade-holder, a

blade-holder supporting roller pivoted to the frame between the pairs ofdriving and 'stropping rollers, said supporting roller being of properdiameter, a centering spring between the rotary-shaft and frame,gearwheels for transmitting rotary motion from the shafts of thedriving-rollers to the stropping rollers, engaging pins on the shafts ofthe driving-rollers and a pair of pins on the gear-wheels of thedriving-rollers, one on each side of the radial pins for permitting a Intestimony, that I claim-the foregoing s as my invention I have signed myname in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NVILLIAM SCHMIDT. Vitnesses:

PAUL GOEPEL, FANNm FISK.

